Batman Versus The Joker
by RicJD
Summary: Look at the title.


He stands over his child. Carefully watching it, making sure it safe and well. Listening carefully, watching intensely, carefully planing his course of action. His child is the Gotham City.  
  
Within a flash he goes into action. The cape whirls round him like wings on a bat. He lands in the middle of a mugging, installing fear straight to the hearts of everyone there, including the innocent victim. He moves quickly and silently making sure that there is no chance of him or the victim being harmed. The muggers come at him with all their power and skill but he just bats them off like they were flies. Before they could realise what had happened they are on the floor, knocked out but not seriously injured. The victim is shocked by the time it has taken for one man to over come 3. He turns round to thank the mysterious man but all he sees is the muggers tied up and flashing light coming round the corner. He has disappeared into the night; the batman has gone to fight for justice that he will never earn.  
  
"Excuse me sir, could you please tell me what has just happened?" Commissioner Gordon demanded with authority that only comes with years of being a policeman, the fine G.C.P.D.  
  
"Umm, uh, well, umm, you see, well. No, no at the moment." The victim said.  
  
"Take 'im down to ta station, sir. Give 'im a swift whiskey." Bullock said with a battered face.  
  
"Ok. Get in the car." With that Gordon show the trembling man the car. Gordon turned to Bullock and moaned "He does a good job but the clean up after is always a bitch."  
  
Back at the police station Gordon settled down to a long interview with the victim. "Interview started at 9:47 p.m., Saturday the 22 of March. So whats your name?"  
  
"Umm Peter. Peter Andrew Dixon." He stumbled back.  
  
"So in your own words tell me what happened." Peter was taken back by the soft tone that Gordon have taken. Peter knew straight away that Gordon knew about the Batman, and believed.  
  
"Well I was walking home from my mate house...."  
  
"And where's that" Gordon interrupted.  
  
"Umm 22A Penny House. On Manchester Road." He searched for where he was in his tale, and then started again. "Anyway I decided to take a back ally. I didn't realise that it was so late. I got half way down the alley and it suddenly got dark. I started to run and heard footsteps behind me. I looked around and fell over a garbage can. Three men jumped me and started to beat me. All of a sudden they stopeed.2  
  
"Do you know why they stopped?" Gordon asked eagerly.  
  
"Well when I looked up all I saw was a man in black with a cape. I thought it was someone else who wanted to mug me. So I got up to run. The I realised that it was the Batman." Gordon started to laugh out loud. Peter had a look of puzzlement and on him. "What is it? What?"  
  
"Peter both you and I know that Batman isn't real." Gordon said while writing something down.  
  
"But I saw..." Gordon handed him the paper. It read 'DON'T USE BATMAN WE GET OUR BALLS CHOPED FOR THAT.' "I saw a man. It could have been anyone. Anyone but the Batman." Peter looked at the table dishearten.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So by the time I got myself together he had disappeared."  
  
"Ok and you rang us on your mobile?"  
  
"I don't have, oh yeah I did."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Gordon stormed out, straight into his office. "Here's my report". The deep, hallowing voice came from out of the shadows.  
  
"If it was anyone else you would have scared them have to death. But I just to it now. Or I'm already half dead."  
  
"That's the plan. Strike fear into them before the have a chance to look deeper. People are sloppy when frightened." Batman explained. "I've called myself Alfred Alabama. Its all there and should match up with your report. Any minor details change yourself."  
  
"Hmmm thanks. Sometimes you make it so hard. But most of the times you make it a lot easier. I wish that people would believe in you. Like superman. Sorry I know you have difficulties with superman."  
  
"We can work together. We have to work together." He looks at his hands. "Like you have to work with women."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"You're an old time cop. Women should put their lives in danger" He thinks of Barbara. How her live wouldn't have been destroyed if it wasn't for him. He knows Gordon is thinking about her. It must be terrible to know that the Joker crippled your daughter. But not to know that he did it after she gave up the responsibilities of Batgirls. "I feel the same way."  
  
"Sometimes we are so alike that it scares me. Before you talked about fear. Do you get scared?"  
  
"If I did it would be over. I've never been scared." With that he says his silent goodbyes, sees his chance to go and takes it.  
  
"God dam it you've taken the file on the Metal gang." Gordon turns to face the Batman. "The fucking... always leaving with out a notice."  
  
He has left the office and was heading home. His mind was already thinking about what he hope to settle tonight. The metal gang. They have robbed 5 banks. Leaving no clues except a calling card. Batman would never normal trouble himself with something as little as bank robberies. But it wasn't that simple. They had killed 23 innocents, during and while getting away from the bank robberies. When the robbers start killing there's usually a mastermind behind this. But he was hoping it wouldn't be true. He glided through the air like it was natural. With such ease and perfection. He landed with the kind of talent a ballet master would have. He climbed into his car and drove home.   
  
The morning sun was rising and his body was tiered and torn from many battles of justice. He knew he needed sleep but he wouldn't get it. He arrived at the bat cave and settled down to some serious mind work. The on the table was a wonderful meal made by his humble servant, Alfred Pennyworth. Batman just looked at it drank the cup of ice tea and took a bite out of the sandwich. Batman revealed his face in the to the batcave. He sat down at the computer and read the files. "Computer bring up the files on the metal gang." He closely studied the files he had taken form Gordon. There was nothing new there. "Computer list current escapees from Arkham Asylum, and Blackgate prison". More than he expected appeared.  
  
From Arkham: Joker, Fire Fly, Neil Jones, Helen Farricka.  
  
From Blackgate prison: Antony Jones, Neil Macdonald, Claire McDougal, Chris Dun, Emma ........  
  
The list from Blackgate was endless. But he was only interested in one name. Joker. He knew this wasn't Jokers usually way of steeling but Batman had all of his other gangs under close observation. The G.C.P.D. and some of them looked away for little things. Batman knew that the Joker was desperate and that he needed money. But money to do what? Was their anything-big happening? He ranked his brain looking at all his material he had collected on this case and could not see anything. It was eight in the morning. Alfred came in. "Sir, I think is time you retire. You have a meeting at one and Lucas Fix will not be happy if you turn up tired again."  
  
"Yes Alfred I'll go straight away."  
  
In the tall building of Wayne enterprises an embarrassed Lucas Fox was sweating trying to come up with an excesses. "Sorry ladies and gentleman. Mr Wayne had a informal doo last night and you know who things get out of hand at these things." Just then Bruce came through the doors laughing like a little schoolboy.  
  
"Sorry I'm late." Lucas mouthed party to Bruce. "Yeah I had this party last night and things well got out of control and well I ended up in this girls apartment. Ah what was her name? Lucy I think. Very nice. She does modelling I think. Lucas do we do modelling?" Lucas shook his head. "Hmm well employ her as a model anyway. We'll call her the Wayne girl. What do you think Lucas?"  
  
"I'll have to think it over Mr Wayne. At the moment can I introduce the businessmen from Honkatoko? From Japan."  
  
"Ah yes. Shall I sit over here?" Now that Bruce had made a complete idiot out of himself he could sit there and thinks about the Joker. All he needed was to say 'sounds good' and 'whatever you think is best' a few times.  
  
That night Batman didn't go out much. He just inspected a killing at the docks. 7 men, the metal group. This confirmed Batman's worst fears. They had been killed from the jokers killing gas, smile on their faces. They looked like the spawn of his evil. He inspected the dock and found various clues. Clues that inexperienced police officers leave behind. This is what Nightwing was talking about. The police who aren't corrupted aren't very good. Luckily Gotham didn't have any corrupted police officers. Gordon could smell corrupted officers a mile off. The next stop was the city morgue. More clues that the police missed. Then of for his nightly chat with Gordon. "Your policemen aren't up to scratch."  
  
"You'll have better luck with this one the we will. How long have you known it was the Joker." Gordon asked sadly.  
  
"For about a week now. Well it was only an educated guess. This wasn't his usually style, he was desperate. Don't beat yourself up over it."  
  
"This is why I could never do your job. Master criminals. I fine to a certain extent, what they teach you in cop school. But Gotham. Gotham breeds a whole new typed of master criminals. But we also breed a whole new type of vigilantes. You, you get inside their head and know what they're thinking. You have brains, a brain that most people would dream of."  
  
Batman moves in closer. For a while he forgets he Batman. "Jim, don't beat yourself up. Anyone with as many dreams of seeing this place being wonderful could do the same thing. Just that some people don't care. And you care about this city more than anyone I know." Jim turns around and reminds himself that he does a good job.  
  
Gordon turns to change the subject. "Hey I haven't seen Robin re..." but by the time he had turned around he had gone.  
  
At the batcave an angry Batman worked himself insane. But to him, his health was less important that the lives of other people. The clues he had got lead him to three different places. The joker wasn't dumb. Just been away to long. The first place was meant for the police, it was a warehouse near the docks, which had been turned into a homeless shelter. The other one was a run down factory. This one was meant for the Batman. The third wasn't meant to be known. It was an old house in the upper West Side of Gotham. A place infested with hard working families that don't need criminal's hiding out there. But Batman didn't know which house. There were a hundred possible answers. So he only had one choice and if the Joker were going to be anywhere he would be at the factory. He phoned Gordon to warn him of the trap at the warehouse and drove to the factory.  
  
He arrived at the factory in the early hours of the morning. He had only a couple hours of dark left so he needed to act quick. He went into the factory through the unlocked front doors. Straight away gunshot where fired at him. He jumped behind a machine. A bullet drove it self through his upper leg. When he landed behind an old machine a small explosive went off. It threw Batman back into the open. Dazed and confused he realised that his anger had got the better of him and he under estimated the genius of the Joker. The smoke from the bomb was clearing and the gunfire started again. He reached into his utility belt and pulled put a smoke bomb. It filled the factory with gas. Batman got up. He was injured but that never stopped him before. He threw a batarang in the general direction of the gunfire. It locked onto a rail. Using a laser beam to find his way he ran forward. The smoke was suffocating the Joker. He climbs up the rope to the balcony where the joker stood. He placed himself in the shadows. The smoke cleared and he could see the Joker desperately looking for him. Batman moved closer to the joker. With one swift blow he knocked the Joker out. From a room at the back the Joker best gang came thundering out. Batman handcuffed the joker to the bar and delft with the gang swiftly and easily. He then cleaned up his wound and any blood that was lying around. The cops could not find that Bruce Wayne had been there.  
  
The Joker started to come around. He saw the Batman, and started to laugh. With that he bit onto a capsule releasing the deadly toxin into his body. Before long he was dead with a smile on his face. The Batman knew this was not the joker. He searched his body for clues. A note addressed to the Batman.   
  
'Batman by the time you read this my decoy will be dead, my gang will be beaten to a shivering pulp and I would have taken another step to victory. Tomorrow night you will see the full destruction of the joker. And I'm not talking about my gas problem I have when I eat onions.  
Joker.  
May the smile live on.'  
  
Batman put the note anyway and then questioned the gang. He got a place and a time. It was too easy. It was another trap. But what choices did he have. But this time he would be prepared. This time he would not underestimate the Joker.  
  
He arrived home and went straight up stairs where Alfred gave him nursing attention and wise word that the hard-headed Bruce Wayne would not listen to. The next day Alfred cancelled Mr Wayne's meetings. Bruce got ready for a long night. Making sure his leg was fine and he knew the layout of Dang Avenue. He equipped the utility belt with things he might need. One of them was a gas mask in case the Joker used his laughing gas. That night Batman drove to Dang Avenue. All he could think about was the treble site he might see if the time was wrong. The time was right. Batman saw the Joker set up a powerful bomb. This bomb was set to go off for next week's march. Next week was to long for Joker to consider so batman didn't. This was his downfall. All of a sudden he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. Batman woke up in a daze, looking round he soon realised that he was tied to the bomb. The joker was standing there with yet another 7 dead men.  
  
"The men wanted to take of your mask, or killed you with a gun. I said no you have to kill the Batman with flare and style. You can't just shot him. So I had to kill them." With that the Joker let out an ear piercing laugh." See your thinking that you have a whole week to get out of this one. But you don't you have twenty minutes. Starting when I press the trigger. And I pressed it 15 minutes ago." Again the joker laughed out loud. "And if you think you'll use your utility belt. I've replaced it will a belt of tangerines." The joker got in a car laughing his head off and sped away.  
  
"God dam you Bruce. He got the better of you again." Batman thought to himself. "Five minutes to get out of this mess. This is fucking great" the ropes were tight. But the belt of tangerines made it possible to get his hands free. He was able to reach s dead mans shoes. With the shoelace he sawed through the top rope. His upper body was now untied and in no time at all he was completely free. The batmobile was trashed. The Joker knew what he was doing. He climbed up to the rooftop. He was about to swing to safety when a little child ran in to the avenue. The kid was so innocent. Without thinking twice he jumped down. The body was position perfectly; he swung out the batarang and caught a pole first time. He held on for dear live. Swinging faster than he could take he knew he had to hold on. The cable was ripping through his hands. With gentle accuracy he grabbed the kid. He came out of the swing. He let go of the cable flying through the air. Landing with gracefulness the child was unharmed. He crouched down on the floor covering him and the child with his Gore-Tex cape saving him and the child from the heat and flames. Thinking of the child and not of himself he used his body as a human shield for the kid. Pieces of metal whips out and striking his back. He shuddered with the pain. The heat died down and Batman stood up. The kid jumps up and down with excitement. He had met the Batman. The one his dad told bedtime stories about. The one who could do more than the normal man could. The saviour of the innocent. Batman could hear a voice in the distance. "Mike, Mike where are you Mike."  
  
The mother saw a tall man running through the flames. In his cape he held her child. The child ran to the gob smacked mum. "Mummy, Mummy Batman saved me. The flames couldn't get through him."  
  
"He's fine. I should get him to a Doctor." With that he swung around the city, to the upper West Side of Gotham. "Robin you there?"  
  
"Long time no hear, Batman. What do you need?" Robin asked eagerly.  
  
"Tim I need you to get to a bat computer" Batman demanded.  
  
"I'm in the cave now." Robin said happily.  
  
"Find out who owns a car with the registered AF 642" He spoke need the urgency swelling in his voice.  
  
"It is own by a mister F. Howell at 53 Goetan Road. In the upper West Side of Gotham." Robin replied.  
  
"Brilliant Robin. Tell Alfred that I have got 2 piece of small metal in my back and minor burns, ready for well I get back."  
  
"Never a dull moment eh?" Robin joked but Batman wasn't listening.  
  
He arrived at 53 Goetan Road. The curtains were drawn but it was 3 in the morning. Hopefully the Joker was there, but it depends who much he knew. Batman climb to the top window at the front. It was locked but Batman picked it open with ease. He climbed in. The homemakers were dead in their bed. The joker could kill at will, and the killing would never stop. Every time it got to the Batman, he was human after all. He looked through the rooms, but he didn't need to. The Joker was laughing him self to sleep. He sneaked up on him.  
  
"You." Batman boomed at the Joker. The Batman had grabbed the Jokers shirt. The Joker was scared. You could see it in his eyes. He wasn't laughing.  
  
"So how did you escape. No let me guess you used your teeth and chewed your way out. That's when bat fangs come in useful." The Joker knew it was over and he was ready for the usual beating.  
  
"Always joking to the end. You've killed 40 people on this outing and you can still joke. What give you such a right to kill and not worry about it? I want to know so maybe I can kill you." The Batman eyes were filled with hatred. The Joker took a long deep breath.  
  
"I'm mad. Completely loony. Gone in the head. Spaced out man. Head in the clouds. But you, you're insane. Aiming for goals that you'll never reach. Pushing yourself further than humanly possible. You only one human. I've came close to my goals plenty of times. And ever time I do you move further away from yours. The only way to get closer is to kill the criminals. That will settle your revenge. But you won't cause that is the one goal that you have set your self that you can reach. So bravo for being the ultimate boy scout. And go ahead head beat me." The Joker grinned his evil grin.  
  
Batman thought about this point. "No. I'm sane" with that he knocked out the Joker. The drive home was long and arduous. He wishes he were there to save those 40 lives. He thought about how many other lives could have been save if he was more realistic and kill the joker years ago. Jason Todd would still be alive. So many bad choices for him. So many good choices for Gotham.  
  
By Richard Knowler  



End file.
